Coast Guard assists 2 people 15 miles off South Padre Island

Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium file photo

Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium file photo

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard assisted two mariners aboard a fishing vessel taking on water off South Padre Island, Texas, Sunday.

Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a mayday call relayed by personnel aboard the fishing vessel Promised Land at 12:20 a.m. that the fishing vessel Salvador R was taking on water with two crewmen aboard approximately 15 miles offshore.

Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew. Once on scene, the RB–M crew boarded the Salvador R and began dewatering the 68-foot vessel.

Station South Padre Island crews continually dewatered the vessel to keep up with the flooding until 9:38 a.m., when the fishing vessel Don Nico, sister ship of the Salvador R, arrived on scene. The Don Nico crew passed over two batteries, enabling the Salvador R to regain power.

Coast Guard boat crewmen remained aboard the Salvador R to continue dewatering the vessel while it transited to the Brownsville Shrimp Basin in Brownsville, Texas.

“Aside from showcasing the resiliency of our South Padre Island boat crews, this case also underlines the importance of having a working marine radio on board your vessel,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Taylor, Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi operations unit controller. “The crew of the fishing boat Promised Land heard the mayday call on channel 16, then reached out directly to us to make sure we knew someone was in distress and in need of our help. In this instance, their marine radio truly was a lifeline.”

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